BARCELONA, Spain — Mobile operators spent years chasing faster speeds and broader coverage, yet the true engine of next generation networks sits dormant in their infrastructure: the mobile core.
That neglect now carries real financial consequences. Artificial intelligence has created fresh pathways for monetization that depend not on radio upgrades, but on unlocking capabilities buried in existing core architecture.
Dejan Leskaroski, Chief Revenue Officer at Mavenir, argues the industry overlooked the core for too long. “Once you have radio access, everything from mobility management and subscriber authentication to policy enforcement, billing and security happens in the core,” he told Mobile Europe.
With cloudification, automation and AI reshaping network operations, carriers now hold an unprecedented opportunity to extract more value from infrastructure already deployed. The pressing question remains whether they can move fast enough.
**5G’s unfulfilled promises**
The industry has heard revenue predictions before. When 5G arrived, network slicing, ultra reliable low latency communications and enterprise services promised transformative business models.
Those expectations largely stalled. Leskaroski points to failed coordination across core networks, radio access and compatible devices. Even operators with deployed technology lacked sufficient 5G Standalone adoption and vendor cooperation.
AI changes that calculus. Services like HD voice translation, enhanced security and power savings function across existing networks, no 5G or 6G standard required. An AI native core could monetize use cases that extend beyond traditional telecommunications.
**Unlocking dormant data**
Operators have always possessed vast network data covering subscriber behavior, location awareness and application usage. Historically, they simply moved that information from point A to point B.
“AI enables the ability to process vast amounts of data much quicker,” Leskaroski explained.
Security emerges as a prime opportunity. Deepfake voice detection, spam prevention and rogue agent identification grow increasingly critical as AI powered threats multiply. Rather than ceding these capabilities to third party apps, operators could deliver them natively.
**Modernization challenges**
Core networks present uniquely complex environments. Multi vendor setups involving two, three or more suppliers create integration headaches when introducing new capabilities alongside legacy charging platforms and customer systems.
“You can’t simply rip everything out and replace it overnight,” Leskaroski warned. Evolution paths must enable automation while building toward autonomous networks.
**The charging bottleneck**
Leskaroski identifies charging systems as the next critical frontier. Many operators rely on heavily customized legacy billing platforms where changes carry substantial risk.
“Right now, the attitude towards charging and billing is often: ‘Don’t touch it. It works,'” he said.
That hesitation could repeat 5G’s mistakes. Without charging evolution, operators may find themselves unable to monetize token based models and new service structures.
